Lock



R. M. MEUNIER.

LOCK.

APPLMCATION FILED NOV. I7, 1919.

Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

IIII-IIIII'IIIIIIIH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROSWELL M. MEUNIER, OF TOMAHAWK, WISCONSIN.

LOCK.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, the undersigned Ros- WELL M. MEUNIER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Tomahawk, in the county of Lincoln, Stateof Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inLocks, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide means for operating a look at adistance, and to provide a simple and inexpensive lock for automobileswhich can be readily operated from the seat of the operator, isabsolutely reliable, and, at the same time, is diflicult to tamper with.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly sectional, of theprincipal parts of my evice, shown as attached to the dashboard andcarburetor of an automobile, with the wire connections and batteryindicated in outline; and Fig. 2 is a sectional view, at right angles toFig. 1, in the plane indicated by line 22 in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, to shaft 10 of butterfly valve 11, operatedby lever 12, is attached, on the outside of carburetor 13, a member 14,provided with slot 15 and arm 16. Into arm 16 a set-screw 17 isthreaded, adapted to be adjusted so that when valve 11 is closed, thepoint 18 of screw 17 will strike a stop 19 on the side of carburetor 13and prevent further movement of lever 12 and .valve 11 beyond a point atwhich slot 15 is located exactly opposite a projection 20 on a lever 21which is oscillatably mounted on a pin 22 and ordinarily pulled awayfrom member 14 against a stop-pin 23 by a spring 24, but is adapted tobe pulled towards member 14 by an electromagnet 25 in such a way thatprojection 20 will rovided it be located opposite slot 15 w en magnet 251s energized) engage slot 15, thereby locking valve 11 in closedposition. A lever 26 is oscillatably mounted on a pin 27 and has its arm28 normally pulled by a spring 29 towards the end 30 of lever 21, but isprovided with a slot 31 adapted to engage end 30 when projection 20 hasentered slot 15. When this happens, lever 21 will be held in position,with projection 20 engaging slot 15, until lever 21 is disengaged fromslot 31. This may be readily accomplished by an electro-magnet 32attracting arm 33 of lever 26. Armatures 34 and 35 on levers 21 and 26,respectively, are preferably attached thereto adjustably by means ofscrewstems 50 and locknuts 51, so that the distance between them andelectromagnets 25 and 32, respectively, may conveniently be regulated.

In dashboard 36 there is mounted, in any convenient way, a lock 37,operated by key 38, said lock being preferably of the cylinder-type, andarranged so that the key hole of the lock faces the operator. On theopposite end of cylinder 39 of lock 37, there are mounted, by a machinescrew 40, a brush 41 oscillatably, and a bracket 42- rigidly, in such amanner that brush 41 pro ects between prongs 43 of bracket 42, and henceon any turning of cylinder 39, follows its movement, except in so far asplay is allowed between prongs 43. Brush 41 is made of such dimensions,prongs 43 are set such a distance apart, and a stop-pin 44 is set, inthe path traversed on rotation of cylinder 39, by brush 41, in suchposition that pin 44 will be struck on one side or the other by brush41, (accordingly as cylinder 39 is turned to the rlght or to the left),and at the same time will arrest further movement of cylinder 39 bycontact of one of prongs 43 with brush 41, whenever cylinder 39 isbrought into proper position for the insertion or withdrawal of key 38.Electric terminals 45 and 46 are arranged so that when key 38 andcylinder 39 are turned to the right, after they have first been turnedto the left as far as possible, brush 41 contacts first with terminal 45and next with terminal 46, but when key 38 and cylinder 39 are turned tothe left after they ave first been-turned to the right as far aspossible, brush 41 contacts first with terminal 46 and next withterminal 45; the contact in each case being intended to be momentaryonly, and to cease before the full rotation of cylinder 39 is completedin either direction.

Terminals 45 and 46, insulated from stationary metallic plate 54, whichis part of lock 37, are connected to one end of the windings on magnets32 and 25, respectively, by wires 56; the other ends of said windingsbeing connected to one of the poles of electric battery 47 by wires 55.This battery may be either the storage battery supplying electriccurrent for the lights of the automobile, or a special battery. Ineither case, the other pole of battery 47, as well as lock 37 mayconveniently be grounded, by wires 52 and 53, on carburetor 13.

Suitable metal caps 49 and 57 are preferably provided and securelyfastened by suit-- able means, to protect, and prevent access to ortampering with, such parts of my deable metallic conduits; and properinsulation is provided for all electric parts and connections. Nodetailed description nor showing in the drawings, of these items appearsnecessary.

The operation of my device is as follows :Assuming that all parts are inproper position and all electrical connections are properly made whenthe automobile is brought to a stop and the engine shut off, thecomplete closing of valve 11 will, in such case, locate projection 20opposite slot 15. If thereupon key 38 is inserted into lock 37 andturned to the right as far as it will go, it will make just one fullturn, together with cylinder 39, at the same time carrying brush 41around from the right side of stoppin 44 to the left side thereof (usingthe terms right and left in each case with reference to the operator, assitting in his seat behind the dashboard. The key then may be withdrawn,and the engine cannot be operated. This result is obtained because brush41, on being swung around in the manner described, While coming incontact first with terminal 45, thereby causes no change except amomentary attraction of lever 26 by magnet 32; but on passing next overterminal 46 causes magnet 25 to be energized, and thereby lever 21 to beattracted, with the result that projection 20 enters slot 15, and end 30of lever 21 is automatically engaged by slot 31, thus locking lever 21in position and preventing valve 11 from being opened. When thereafterit is desired to operate the engine, key 38 is again inserted into lock37 and turned to the left as far as it will go, this involving again afull revolution of the key and of cylinder 31, and for brush 41 acarrying around from the left side of pin 44 to the right side thereof,and placing key 38 again in position to be withdrawn. In this simpleoperation the engine is unlocked because brush 41, on being swung aroundin the manner described, while coming in contact first with terminal 46,accomplishes nothing thereby except a temporary energizing of magnet 25,but on passing next over terminal 45 causes arm 28 to be Pulled awayfrom end 30 of lever.21 by magnet 32, thereby frees end 30 from slot 31,allows spring 24 to pull lever 21 away from member 14, and therebydisengages projection 20 from slot 15.

While I have shown and illustrated my device as applied to thecarburetor of an automobile, it will be readily seen that my devicemight readily be applied to the looking of other parts of an automobile,with similar results; also that my device could readily be applied, notonly to the locking of automobiles and other vehicles, but also to thelocking and unlocking of other things from a distance, as, for instance,the locking and unlocking of doors in a factory, or on a farm, from acentral point, such as the ofiice, etc.

I claim,

1. In a lock, the combination of a latch; a locking member to fix thelatch in POSI' tion; springs and electro-magnets to operate the latchand locking member, respectlvely; electric circuits controlling theelectromagnets; a cylinder-lock; a switch attached to the cylinder ofthe lock, adapted to open and close the electric circuits, on rotationof the cylinder, so as to throw and fix the latch in locking positionwhen the cylinder is turned to the right from neutral position, and torelease the latch when the cylinder is turned in the opposite direction;and a key to control the cylinder lock.

2. In a lock, the combination of a latch; a spring tending to move thelatch out of locking position; a locking member to fix the latch inlocking position; a spring tending to move the locking member intolocking position; electro-magnets adapted to move the latch into lockingposition and the locking member out of locking position, respectively;electric circuits controlling the magnets; a cylinder-lock; a switchattached to the cylinder of the lock, adapted to open and close theelectric circuits on rotation of the cylinder; and a key to control thecylinder lock.

3. In a lock, the combination of a locking means; electric circuitscontrolling the locking means; a key-operated cylinder lock; and aswitch on the cylinder adapted to cause the locking means to be throwninto or out of locking position, accordingly as the cylinder is turnedin one direction or the other.

4. In a lock, the combination of a locking means; electric circuitscontrolling the locking means; a key-operated cylinder lock; a switch onthe cylinder adapted to cause the locking means to be thrown into or outof locking position, accordingly as the cylinder is turned in onedirection or the other;

an internal combustion engine, comprising means for locking thebutterfly-valve at the carburetor; electric circuits for controlling thelocking means; and a lock for controlling the circuits.

7. A lock for a conveyance propelled by an explosion engine, comprisingmeans for locking a valve controlling the fuel supply to the engine;electric circuits for controllin the locking means; and a lock forcontro ling the circuits.

8. A look for a conveyance propelled by an internal combustion engine,comprising means for closing the passage from the carburetor to theengine; electric circuits for controlling the closing means; and a lockfor controlling the circuits.

9. A lock for conveyance propelled by an explosion engine, comprisingmeans for closing a valve controlling the fuel supply to the engine;electric circuits for controlling the closing means; and a lock forcontrolling the circuits.

10. A lock for a conveyance propelled by an explosion engine, comprisingmeans for shutting off the fuel supply to the engine; electric circuitsfor controllin the shut-off means; and a lock for controlling thecircuits.

ROSWELL M. MEUNIER.

